ARTARMON VILLAGE INC. UPDATE DECEMBER 2015 by Nick Logan

Artarmon Village Inc. has been very busy indeed since Sydney Metro Northwest announced in November that their preferred option for cabling between Willoughby and North Chatswood is a jagged tear through the heart of our suburb.

Their preferred “option 5” means that two lanes of Hampden Road, Brand St and Muttama Rd, will be closed in 100-metre sections for more than 6 months in the middle of next year, choking our main arterial road and access to the Royal North Shore Hospital, Artarmon Public School and St Leonards. Add to this that the cabling is scheduled at the same time as major developments at 98-102 Hampden Rd (60 weeks from Jan 2016) and the school (48 months from mid-2016 affecting Barton, McMillan and Jersey Roads).

During this time, traffic will be reduced to a trickle and the car parking for the shopping village will be largely taken by dozens of workers associated with each construction project. The project will be devastating for the businesses in the shopping village, who have been holding their breath these last few years for development to revitalise the suburb. Customer numbers are at an all-time low and the livelihoods of the business owners and their employees are on the line.

Artarmon Village Inc. would like to thank Artarmon Progress Association for their support, along with Willoughby City Council, especially our Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney and Deputy Mayor Michelle Sloane and also our local member, Gladys Berejiklian, who has taken up our cause at a state level. If you value Artarmon Shopping Village I urge you to view the proposal at www.sydneymetro.info/northwest and email your objections ASAP to;

• Gladys Berejiklian MP Willoughby@parliament.nsw.gov.au
• Sydney Metro Northwest info@ metronorthwest.com.au and
• Andrew Constance MP (Minister for Transport and Infrastructure NSW) bega@parliament.nsw.gov.au

On a positive note, a big Artarmon welcome to our latest member, Dr Mark Chung of Artarmon Fine Dental at 80 Hampden Road! We would also like to sincerely thank all the residents who value and support their local shops. * If you would like to contact me, email me on: artarmonvillage@gmail.com